I'm Proud of You
by aedy
Summary: Kurt helps Puck to see Beth.


**_A/N: Just a little oneshot inspired by this week episode. _**

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><p>Kurt was humming softly under his breath while he did his homework. On the couch not far away, sprawled out and with his feet on the coffee table, Puck played at one of Finn's video games, his fingers pressing down on the buttons harder than usual.<p>

Kurt looked up from his French homework and arched an eyebrow while he turned around to face his friend. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Puck answered quickly, his eyes never leaving the screen.

"Are you sure?"

"Yep."

Shrugging, Kurt turned back to his homework. He had just picked up his pencil so he could answer the questions of the book, when Puck said, "Shelby is back."

Kurt nodded, without looking up. "I know." He started writing down the correct answer, giving Puck the time to keep talking if he wanted.

"I talked to her today, Quinn was there too." Puck frowned, looking down at his hands uselessly holding the remote, his character currently getting killed on the screen. "She said that she's willing to let us see Beth, be in her life, you know?"

"That's great." Kurt turned around to face him, absentmindedly twirling his pencil between his fingers. "When are you going to see her?"

Puck threw the controller down on the couch and leaned his head back against the headrest. "I don't know. She said that we can only be there at her conditions."

"Huh." Kurt put his hands on the coffee table where he was studying and pulled himself up going to sit down next to Puck. "Which means, getting checked for drugs and alcohol, being sure that you aren't up to your old tricks at school, that you are getting good grades."

Puck chuckled and to Kurt it sounded a bit self-deprecating. "Yeah."

"Okay." Kurt sighed and turned away from Puck. He relaxed against the sofa cushions, his shoulder resting comfortably against Puck's. "Well, you are getting better grades. Artie helped you last year and I'm helping you this year and we have barely started school anyway, so you aren't falling behind, so don't worry about that." He turned to look at Puck with a little smile and found the other boy staring at him with a raised eyebrow. "You have to worry about proving to Shelby that you are healthy."

"I am healthy."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Right. Rachel told me that last year you used steroids," and Kurt couldn't stop his eyes from briefly looking down to Puck's lap as if he could see through the jeans if it was true what using steroids did to someone's junk. When he looked up again, Puck was grinning and Kurt thought that maybe he should have blushed at getting caught, but that was Puck and after having spent the Summer together whenever the other boy came over to be with Finn, Puck was now someone familiar, someone who didn't make him feel embarrassed.

"For your information, I stopped. I'm clean."

"I believe you," Kurt said, nodding firmly, "But I know you and Shelby doesn't. All she knows is that you knocked up Quinn when you were sixteen. So, you should do a check-up, I make my dad take one every couple of months, I know everyone down at the clinic. You will show Shelby the results and that will be a step forward." Kurt smiled then and patted Puck's shoulder. "And that's more than Quinn can do. She hasn't been attending classes and she's always smoking something. You can do it, Puck."

The fact that Kurt was helping him or that Puck had talked to him about it in the first place, made Puck realize how much he had actually changed in the last years. He wondered how they had become so comfortable with each other, but found himself unable to point out one single event that had changed things between them; it felt natural, like it had been happening gradually. His lips curved upwards into a smile and he nodded, if he had changed so much that now Kurt was his friend, maybe he had grown up enough to be there for Beth. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Kurt squeezed his knee and raised from the couch. He looked down at his friend with a big smile and asked, "Would you like something to eat? I know that Finn and Dad will be home soon, and Carole too, but I'm starving."

"French always makes you hungry," Puck commented distractedly, while he got up to follow Kurt in the kitchen.

Kurt chose very carefully to stop his mind from wondering about the fact that Puck now knew him so well.

Puck sat down on one of the chairs around the table and looked up at Kurt who was currently getting turkey, lettuce, mustard and mayonnaise from the fridge. "Will you come with me to the clinic?" he asked.

"Sure." Kurt took out two plates and started making the sandwiches, putting mustard in Puck's and mayonnaise in his.

Puck observed him for a few minutes before saying, "It's cool that you remember this stuff."

Kurt shrugged. "It's nothing. You're almost always around here, my dad remembers too." He looked up at Puck with a smile. "The other day I went with him grocery shopping and we where almost done when he told me, 'wait in line, I'm going to go pick some turkey for Puck'." Kurt handed Puck his sandwich and sat down across from him, taking a bite of his own.

"I didn't know that."

"Dad likes you," Kurt simply said before getting up to get something to drink.

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><p>On Friday, right after school, Kurt took Puck to the clinic and waited with him until they called his name. Almost half an hour later, Puck came back out and they left to go get something to eat before stopping by the garage so Kurt could check on how his scaffolding was coming along.<p>

Puck laughed when Kurt explained to him what he was going to do. "You always go for the most crazy stuff," he commented.

"A bit over the top, huh?"

"Yep but I think it's alright. Isn't Tony like in a gang or something?"

Kurt was taken aback by the fact that Puck actually knew that, but he nodded nonetheless.

"So you have to do something more than just dance around, right? Or staying there singing. So you will show them that you don't only sing but you can also move around and do crazy stuff while you are singing."

Kurt smiled at him. "Thank you."

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><p>Puck went to pick up his results on Wednesday. He was a bit surprised that they came out so good, but he wasn't going to complain. He called Kurt before even turning on the engine of his car to tell him that now he could show him that he really was clean and that Kurt wouldn't need to stare at his junk anymore. That made Kurt laugh and Puck could feel his own lips curving into a smile.<p>

"_When are you going to show them to Shelby?_"

"I don't want to do it at school, but I don't know how to find where she lives."

They didn't talk for a few moments and then Kurt said, "_One of my Dad's friends is a policeman, he's on his bowling team. I'm going to ask Dad to check for you, okay?_"

"Are you kidding? That's great!" He exclaimed, making Kurt laugh again.

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><p>Two days later, Puck found Kurt sitting in the choir room dressed with strange looking jeans, a white shirt and a bandana tied around his neck, he was getting his fingerless gloves off.<p>

"How did it go?" Puck asked, sitting down next to Kurt.

"I was great," Kurt replied confidently, smiling. He put his gloves into his bag and then started to untie his shoes.

"I hope you get the part."

"Thanks." Kurt turned around in his seat so he could face Puck and asked, "So? How did it go?"

"She said that I can't just go over whenever I want but I can see her." Puck fished his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Kurt. "I saw her, Kurt and she's beautiful. She looks just like Quinn but Shelby says that she has my smile."

Kurt's eyes were glued to the phone, the background picture was of Puck holding a blond baby girl. He couldn't help but smile while he handed the phone back to Puck. "She's beautiful."

"Thanks."

Puck was putting his phone back in his pocket, turned away from Kurt when he heard, "I'm proud of you."

Startled, Puck turned around, his eyes focusing on Kurt's smiling face. "What?"

"I figured, someone had to tell you. One should always recognize improvements in a person. You did great, you are actually doing something to be there for your daughter and that's great, so, I'm proud of you, Puck." Kurt got up from his chair and retrieved his bag, picking up his shoes as well. The cool of the floor felt heavenly against his feet. He walked over to the door of the choir room and looked back once, finding Puck staring at him. He winked at him before walking out.


End file.
